Trump transition team compiles list of current and former US officers for possible military tribunals

Trump’s transition team is compiling a list of senior current and former U.S. officers directly involved in the Afghanistan withdrawal and investigating whether they could be court-martialed for their involvement, according to a U.S. official and person familiar with the plan. .

Officials working on the transition are considering creating a commission to investigate a withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, including gathering information about who is directly involved in the military’s decision-making process, how it is carried out and whether military leaders would be amenable to the transition. A US official and person with knowledge of the plan said the charges were as serious as treason.

“They’re taking this very seriously,” said the person with knowledge of the plan.

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Matt Flynn, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for countering narcotics and global threats, is leading the effort, sources said. It is framed as an examination of how the United States first entered the war in Afghanistan and eventually withdrew.

President-elect Donald Trump condemned He called the withdrawal a “humiliation” and “the most shameful day in the history of the country.”

But it’s unclear what would legally justify “treason” charges because military officials followed President Joe Biden’s orders to withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

An independent review in 2022 The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction blamed both the Trump and Biden administrations for the chaotic U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

Trump reached out for the first time Agreement with Taliban in 2020 Withdrawal of all US forces in Afghanistan (about 13,000 troops) and release of 5,000 Taliban fighters from prison. The Biden administration later completed the withdrawal, grossly overestimating the ability of Afghan government forces to fight the Taliban on their own.

Trump’s choice of defense secretary Fox News personality Pete HegsethHe criticized the withdrawal, saying the United States had lost the war and wasted billions of dollars.

“The next president of the United States needs to radically overhaul the Pentagon’s senior leadership so that we are ready to defend our nation and defeat our enemies. Many people need to be removed from office,” Hegseth wrote in his book “War on Warriors.” “The fiasco in Afghanistan is, of course, the most striking example of this.”

Hegseth calls the withdrawal a “humiliating retreat” and says leaders at the Pentagon are not being held accountable for the deadly incident Attack on the Abbey GateIt killed 13 US soldiers and approximately 170 Afghan civilians. Nor were they held responsible for a subsequent U.S. airstrike in Kabul that authorities thought would kill the leader of the Islamic State group behind the suicide attack, but instead killed 10 innocent Afghans, including seven children, he wrote.

“These generals lied. They mismanaged. They violated their oath. They failed. They disgraced our soldiers and our nation. “They killed people unnecessarily,” he wrote. “And so far they are continuing their work. Worse, they continue to actively erode our military and its values ​​by capitulating to civilians with radical agendas. “It’s a shame when the stars are still on their shoulders.”

The U.S. official said the transition team is considering the possibility of recalling several commanders to active duty over possible criminal charges.

It is not clear that the Trump administration will pursue treason charges and may instead focus on lesser charges that highlight the officer’s involvement. “They want to set an example,” said the person with knowledge of the plan.

Howard Lutnick, one of two advisers who spoke to NBC News days before the election lead the transitionTrump said he learned after his first administration that he had hired Democratic generals and that he would not make that mistake again.

Former officials who worked in Trump’s first administration said they advised Trump against policies they thought would weaken US national security, such as the withdrawal of US troops from Syria. They also advised against actions they say could violate the Constitution or increase tensions at home, such as deploying active-duty U.S. troops to quell protests following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.